Abhorash
Abhorash is a human magician and occultist. An apprentice to the ancient lich Abaxoth, he seeks to accumulate power and followers in order to become the most renowned occultist of his time. History Abhorash was born Todd Bookman, an ordinary man in an ordinary village with little prospects at greatness. Born into a moderately successful family of merchants, he learned his letters and numbers at an early age and would eventually take over his father's small business in their hometown of Gnarled Oak, a small town several miles from Tilmouth. His ownership of the business was short lived, however, as only a year later a wasting sickness spread through the countryside, likely one of the many unnatural side-effects of the war with Torslowe, which was raging at the time further North. Gnarled Oak was hard hit by this sickness, which was reminscient of the great Plague that destroyed the Avylonian Empire, and as the townsfolk started to die off Todd sought a way to save himself and any of his neighbors and friends that he could. He uncovered an unassuming tome traded to him by a traveler, and quickly learned that it was a book of the occult. While he had difficulty deciphering it, he was eventually able to read the book and began practicing the spells within. In his desperation to live he committed many unsavory acts, including using the corpses of those who had already died from the sickness. His short but diligent period of study paid off, and with rudimentary knowledge of basic necromancy he managed to stave off the sickness from himself and those in his town still alive. Despite being a savior, it wasn't long before the townsfolk became suspicious. It was widely believed that occult magic had brought this illness to the village and when rumors began circulating that Bookman was using these same magics, his neighbors turned on him. Todd was forced to flee, but he was far too engrossed in his studies to be bitter or vengeful. He had attained a deep fascination for the knowledge he had uncovered, and sought even more texts on the occult as well as others who practiced it. Todd spent several years as a novice necromancer, avoiding affiliation with other occultists and prefering to work and expand his knowledge on his own. While he drew little attention to himself and chose not to harm others in his pursuits like many practitioners, he was still branded an outlaw for his use of occult magic and forced to live in seclusion. The more knowledge Bookman gained, the more he craved, and his studies eventually turned up an old journal written by a necromancer who had sought something called the Great Tomb of Abaxoth. Within Bookman found notes on a ritual that could potentially summon the tomb, but unfortunately he also discovered that the original owner of this ritual had been murdered by his apprentices and the two "keys" that completed the spell had been lost. With this new information Todd spent two years hunting down these treacherous occultists, killing them both and reclaiming the pieces of the ritual. This period was the first time that Bookman had engaged in actual combat, and he learned much from his battles, developing a new belief that such dangerous situations were a powerful source of power through experience. Todd then found a spot far removed from civilization and performed the ritual he had attained, summoning the Great Tomb of Abaxoth. Within he found the mighty lich himself, miracualously still alive, though the irritable old skeleton had not been what the young magician had expected. Bookman became Abaxoth's apprentice, learning even more about magic from the ancient necromancer and befriending a sentient tome known as Orick, a creation of Abaxoth. Todd was renamed "Abhorash" by his new master, which apparently once meant "Impudent" in a long dead language, due to the young spellcaster's disrespectful and arrogant disposition. The newly dubbed Abhorash would eventually leave the tomb, though he visited it again twice more within the next two decades. Accompanied by Orick, Abhorash traveled across much of Panoulis and the Elemental Planes, meeting the vampiress Galatea during this time as well as making enemies of the Godhand Knights, devout servants of the Temple of Enemus. His thirst for knowledge would eventually drive his every action, and in later years evolved into a desire for renown and power. Abhorash now seeks to collect the most powerful magics and arcane artifacts he can find, along with a cadre of followers, in order to establish himself as one of the world's greatest magicians and create a legend that will rival even his mentor's. Equipment Non-combat abilities Class and Race Features Combat abilities Locked Abilities Category:Characters